


A New Viewpoint - Natasha

by Rjslpets



Series: Therapeutic Conversations [5]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: End Result of Therapy, Gen, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Therapy is Great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-08-27 02:16:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8384113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rjslpets/pseuds/Rjslpets
Summary: So Tony has been going to therapy and working on his new life and time has gone along...and Natasha comes back. But Tony isn't the person she remembers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I blame silvermuse for this one! I suddenly started thinking about how once someone has been in therapy for awhile, they change. It can be incredibly disconcerting for their families and friends as all the ways you developed to deal with this person no longer are necessary. I am not sure why I picked Natasha to come meet with Tony, but this popped into my head.
> 
> In my mind, about three years have passed since the end of CA:CW. So Tony has had plenty of time to 'work on himself'
> 
> I hope you enjoy it and remember that this story wouldn't exist if it wasn't for comments and kudos!
> 
> Oh! The Kindly Brontosaurus   
> http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2013/08/the_kindly_brontosaurus_the_amazing_prehistoric_posture_that_will_get_you.html

Tony eyed the woman in front of him. Natasha was sporting brunette hair and sunglasses. She had probably used makeup to contour her face, he thought idly. Or maybe there was a prosthetic in her mouth to alter the lines of her face? Whatever it was and he shook himself out of the irrelevant thoughts, it was good enough to escape detection and get her into a room with him. He had known this was coming and had even discussed it in therapy. Dr. Sorens had told him that he just needed to remember all they had discussed about responsibility and guilt. She had gone on to tell him that if he wanted to help someone because he could, then he should, but that decision should not depend on what the other person expected.

“Hello Nat. How you been?” He figured he might as well be polite and, honestly, he wasn’t angry anymore. It had been months and he had a lot of other, more important things to process. She was barely a footnote in this mess. And he could understand really. Steve had been her friend and compatriot in missions and they shared a bond. Apparently, his lack of animosity was not what the spy expected. Or, he suddenly realized, it might be the lack of snark that confused her. Either way, he had not reacted the way she anticipated.

“Stark.” was her measured response. He waited for her to continue; he could tell that threw her off. She was used to him talking as a defensive mechanism, but Tony had started to enjoy confounding expectations. He had reduced Pepper to helpless giggles at a board meeting by being faultlessly polite to everyone. Basically, he had imitated Andrew, his new butler with a little flourish of Jarvis. The stunned expressions on their faces and Pepper’s smothered hysteria had been the best! Almost as much fun had been his meeting with some hostile politicians when he had reduced them to stuttering by simply refusing to play to their expectations of him. It was even more amusing to do it to someone who had always been able to manipulate everyone around her.

Finally realizing that Tony was unlikely to start this conversation (probably because he had consciously adopted the kindly brontosaurus posture), Natasha began, “We need to talk about getting the Avengers back. This argument has gone on long enough; it’s time to end it.”

“OK,” he replied equably (the look on her face made him almost giggle), “I can send you a copy of the updated Accords and the form for the individual contracts. Take a look and let me know if you have any concerns or questions. There’s a FAQ online and the packet includes some phone numbers for lawyers familiar with the documents if you need them. Should be a pretty quick process, barring any complications.” He made sure to keep his tone calm, as if she was talking about a business deal.

Natasha snorted, “Stark, don’t play dumb. This isn’t the time for your hurt feelings.”

“What hurt feelings? You asked about joining the Avengers and I’m explaining the process.” He made sure to keep his tone confused and not even a hint of anger which wasn’t as difficult as not giggling. Messing with people was so much fun. “Now that the current roster is over 35 active members with another 35 in reserve, we had to get a little bureaucratic I’m afraid.” That was true actually; the roster was composed of five teams spread across the globe, and they were still considering expansion. Everyone was more relaxed with heroes that were close to their own culture and spoke the language. “Friday, make a note that I need to talk to India about their proposal for another team.”

“Sure thing, Boss. Jarvis wants to know if you are coming home for lunch?”

“Definitely, although I may be a little delayed here. About 20 minutes or so?”

“Got it.”

“JARVIS?” Natasha asked, “How did you get JARVIS back?”

“Oh, he came after the first press conference I gave when I got out of the hospital after Siberia. I have a new butler too, very nice and bakes like a dream. Vision is training with him and…” Tony had just settled in for a friendly chat when Natasha interrupted.

“Stark, I understand that you are angry at Steve, but you wouldn’t compromise…”

“Compromise?  At the airport? Well, I really can’t see how that would have improved the situation. Tell me, Natasha, how did you see that playing out? I just step out of the armor and tell Steve to do what he needs to do?”

Natasha started to agree, but Tony held up a hand to stop her, “Let’s game this out then. I step out. Does Rhodey or T’Challa or Vision? I think we can both agree that King Kitty-Kat would keep going, so we, what, shoot the king of Wakanda? Didn’t work so well for you. Then there’s Rhodey; he’s not gonna stop because I say so and I sure as hell am not going to shoot him. I’m not actually sure that any of us could really stop Vision, so I think we wind up where we were before, except now, you and I are in the Raft with everyone else and Rhodey, T’Challa and Vision go after Steve and Barnes in Siberia. I think they would win, don’t you? So that doesn’t really work. But, Natasha, I could never have ‘given in’ at the airport. I couldn’t and it’s for reasons I doubt ever crossed your mind.” Tony kept his voice calm; he actually did want to explain, not justify, just explain. Dr. Sorens had pointed out to him that he tended to assume that other people could juggle multiple viewpoints of a situation and that people often couldn’t follow him. So he wanted to explain.

“Your ego?” she said with a shrug.

“Actually, it was a series of numbers, 65, 25-35, 400,000.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I am aware of that, but let me explain. Sixty-five percent was the drop in Stark Industries stock price when I was kidnapped in Afghanistan. The military put a hold on continuing our weapons contracts as they weren’t convinced the company could deliver without me. Remember that I had been the company’s primary weapons designer since I was 20 years old. Stane was meeting with the board to make cuts to stay afloat. They were planning to cut staff by 25-35% and that was when I was only presumed kidnapped. Took me 18 months to make Stark Industries a tech powerhouse. Now the company is one of the largest in the world and employs over 400,000 people worldwide. Natasha, if I had just let Steve go at the airport, it would have sent the company into freefall and all those 400,000 people? Their livelihoods would have been at risk, because Steve Rogers was having a temper tantrum? I realize that none of you have any one depending on you like that and you probably never have, so it wouldn’t have occurred to you to think that I did. So no, Natasha, I could not drop my armor on the airstrip and say, ‘Screw you and I’m going home’ to 117 countries.”

He could see that Natasha was trying to come up with a cutting reply, probably along the lines of “You’re not that important” but of course, he was. And she knew it. Steve Rogers, Captain America, leaves and the world trundles on quite happily. Major economic drivers like Tony? The world feels the aftershocks. In this area, he was only speaking the truth. To the world at large, Tony Stark was far more valuable than any of the Avengers. He was the primary name on 67% of the patents Stark Industry had been granted in the last year, and that was down from 82% the year before (His gift to MIT was paying off handsomely and providing his company with a hope of surviving his eventual death). Clean energy, cloud computing, personal tech, and now medical technology, Tony was a innovator in all these fields.  

“Natasha, there’s something else to consider. It takes both sides being willing to compromise to, actually, you know, compromise. Otherwise, it means that one side is just surrendering. And, as you pointed out at the time, Steve wasn’t going to stop. I have been over and over what happened at Leipzig and I've realized that if there was going to be a different outcome, someone from the other side had to have done something differently. They were holding the information we needed, Nat, if we were going to stop blocking them and they didn’t share it.”

“You didn’t give them the opportunity, Tony. They knew that you were committed to the Accords and there was no point in talking to you!”

“You know, Nat, you’re making it difficult for me to be modest.” He replied with a grin. He continued more seriously, “I wasn’t the only person there. I appreciate that it is easier to make it about me and Steve, but Clint could have told you. I mean, you had time to exchange quips, he could have just mentioned the threat. Wanda could’ve told Vision. Anyone could’ve told Rhodey.”

There was a pause. Tony knew that Natasha was probably rethinking her strategy and he wanted to end this discussion and not on a negative note. So…

“I’m sorry for calling you a double agent – that was uncalled for. I mean, I get now what you were facing in the hanger. It was a nasty shock to me to when I realized that Steve was willing to just leave me stranded in Siberia. So I understand how disconcerting it must have been for you to realize that he was willing to go right through you in Leipzig.” Tony now had the amazing experience of realizing that he had shocked Natasha speechless. It was only for a fraction of a second, but he still saw it. And he meant his apology. She had been in a terrible position and she wasn’t a morally strong person, and Steve had been her friend, and Barnes hadn’t killed her parents (at least Tony didn’t think so). So, he couldn’t hold it against her that she had decided to back down rather than face the truth of how far Steve was willing to go.

“I’ll send along the Accords and a copy of the contract to your old Avengers email. I assume that you want to look at the American contract? We generally discuss new memberships on the 20th, so if you get in your application by early next week, we can probably get you reinstated by next month. It was great seeing you, Nat.”

He sauntered out of the room, sliding his sunglasses on and left a completely thrown spy behind him.


	2. Wrapping Up a Loose End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha asks a question, Tony answered.

“Tony,” Natasha stopped the billionaire from leaving the training area with a hand on his arm, “I want to ask you a question.” It had been three months since the Widow had come back to the reformed Avengers and Tony had been avoiding any intimate conversations – an action his therapist had told was fine as long as he wasn’t suppressing something that needed to be said. And he wasn’t; he really had nothing to say to her. As far as he was concerned, they had resolved the issues that rose up from the ‘civil war’ and she was fitting well into the team. So it was a little worrying to have her wanting to talk to him now. But as the main face of the Avengers, Tony had learned that he needed to give every member attention when they wanted it. Thank god for Rhodey doing all the actual team leadership stuff since he was, you know, actually trained for it. Tony and he had had a conversation once about why Rogers had been in charge when Rhodey was an actual trained officer. Neither had come up with a good explanation.

“It’s about your parents.” Well that drew his attention back to Natasha right quick. “You must know that I knew about your parents as well. I was in the bunker with Zola and I saw everything that Steve did. So why are you still so angry with Steve and not with me?”

Well, she probably deserved an answer to that question and luckily Tony had worked it out. When he had told Dr.Soren that Natasha was coming back, she had insisted that he identify and deal with all his feelings about the ex-spy. “It wouldn’t be fair to her, yourself or the team to allow her back if you have reservations that are going to lead to unfair treatment. That sort of thing is very detrimental to a team.” So they had discussed his relationship with Natasha Romanov. There were some unhealthy aspects to it that he and the good doctor had discussed in detail and they had come up with alternative ways of interacting that only required Tony to change his behavior and expectations and not to expect any changes on the part of Natasha. So disgustingly well-adjusted, he mused absently as he considered what to say to the Black Widow.

“Well, there was no benefit to telling me for you, was there?”

“No, there wasn’t. But, if you understand, then why are you still angry with Steve? He didn’t tell you for the same reasons.”

Tony stared at her and then told her the simple truth, “I expected Steve Rogers to behave like a decent person.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene got stuck in my head. I see Natasha as a character who views all actions only in terms of how the actions further the accomplishment of her goals/mission. For example, her actions towards Bruce were about accomplishing her goals and I don't think that she ever considered the moral actions. So, since she couldn't see any benefit to her goals in Tony knowing, it never occurred to her to tell him.


	3. Getting Another Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha is baffled by Tony's behavior since she has been back, so she goes to a source for more information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never liked Pepper Potts and Tony Stark's relationship in the movies. It seemed to have very unhealthy undertones which I addressed briefly in an earlier Conversation. So this is something of a fix-it.
> 
> I am leaving for vacation tomorrow and won't be on line until next week so I am posting this although I am not that happy with it. Have a great holiday everyone!

“You’ve talked to Tony.” The statement was made with confidence, but that was hardly surprising; everything Pepper Potts did was done with confidence. It was one of the aspects of her personality that Natasha admired. Potts was also someone who held the key to Tony and could explain his unexpected behavior (Rhodes probably knew Tony better but it was unlikely that the Airforce officer would be willing to speak to Natasha). Since she had come back, she had found herself in the very unusual position of being unable to predict someone’s behavior. Tony had been acting completely differently from what the spy had expected. The very few times she had managed to speak to him since she came back, none of her usual techniques had worked. Stark was calm, attentive and indifferent. The guilt-ridden genius who willingly sacrificed for those he loved seemed to have vanished. He reacted to none of her ploys; neither humor nor sarcasm dented his attitude. It was as if she was working against an impenetrable wall. So she decided to seek out more information.  Potts, Natasha calculated should have little emotional investment in the Avengers breakup and would, therefore, be willing to speak with her. It certainly seemed that way as she had been granted a space on Potts’ calendar without any trouble. Natasha had thought she was going to find out about Tony but now she was wondering if she was missing something, something that had happened while she was away. The look on Potts’ face seemed to indicate that she knew she was in possession of information that the spy didn’t have and that made Natasha nervous.

“I have. He’s…changed.” Natasha made the decision to appear more confused than she was normally comfortable with, a way to hopefully ease some information from Potts. She needed to be careful; the CEO was very sensitive to interrogation techniques. “I obviously missed something while I was away.”

Pepper looked steadily at the ex-assassin, spy, whatever who stood in front of her. She spared a second to admire the perfect facade of knee-length skirt, boots and the sweater that softly signified an unimportant office worker. She consciously stopped her lips from curling; “missed something” indeed. “And you think that I can supply you with the missing information. Please have a seat; there’s no need for us to be uncomfortable for this conversation.” She led the other woman over to a small table with four chairs around it and settled herself in one. “Can you clarify what you want to know? I see no particular reason for games of questions, do you?”

While folding gracefully into her own chair, Natasha revised her strategy. Potts was not radiating hostility, but a kind of amusement. It put Natasha’s instincts on edge and she decided to pretend to be direct. “Tony seems very different than the last time I saw him. In fact, the entire way he has been acting the last six months has been very…”

“different from what you expected?” Potts finished interrogatively, “Yes, I imagine he does. It isn’t anything to do with me, you know. We broke up just before the whole fight broke out. Bad timing.” Potts’ face reflected that she was regretful and that might be the in that Natasha needed. She followed up on Potts’ comments.

“Oh, that might explain the way he was acting. He was quite upset at the breakup, then? The timing wasn’t your fault. With Tony’s ego, I can’t imagine how difficult the relationship must have been for you. You can’t…”

Potts interrupted, “You think we broke up because of _Tony’s_ ego?” The tone of her voice was surprisingly hard for Natasha to analyze; it seemed to have an undercurrent of amusement with a note of satisfaction? Yes, the spy decided, that was what it was. She nodded.

“Well,” Pepper Potts drawled. “ego definitely played a part in our breakup. But it wasn’t Tony’s, it was mine.” She cocked her head and the look she sent Natasha seemed almost…disappointed? As if she couldn’t believe that the spy hadn’t figured everything out. “To be fair, we just weren’t a good fit romantically and that would have always been true, but my ego was what really messed us up.” The CEO noted with amusement that the spy seemed blindsided by the whole conversation. She continued, “I got together with Tony knowing he was Iron Man. Then I couldn’t deal with it. I have always prided myself on being in control; it drove me nuts that I couldn’t control Iron Man. And that would have been fine, if I had taken the blame for the fact that I couldn’t hack it. But I let Tony take the blame – it is so easy to do that, isn’t it?” And Natasha had a sudden feeling that Potts was not neutral on the subject of the Avengers and that she might have misjudged her friendship and loyalty to Tony Stark. “That was my ego – I just couldn’t accept that I was unable to hack it as Tony’s girlfriend. So yes, Natasha, we broke up because of ego, but it was mine, not Tony’s.” There was a pause during which Pepper delicately sipped from a glass of mineral water and watched the woman in front of her try to adjust her interrogation mid-stream. Eventually, she decided to take control of the conversation. She hadn’t lied; she was a control freak and she did had a full schedule of meetings that day.

“You are seeing the results of Tony applying himself to something. When it’s to prosthetics, he revolutionizes the industry, to clean energy – you get the arc reactor. In this case, it was therapy. He is not the man you left in the dust of your ‘civil war.’” She said warningly, “I would tell you that your tricks won’t work on him, but I doubt you will get the opportunity to talk to him. He deliberately placed you on a different team from the one he works with and the handler for that team is unlikely to allow you a lot of free rein. Tony doesn’t have a grudge against you and he has put you in a position where he thinks you can succeed. Natasha, if I may give you some advice, don’t fuck this up. It’s your last chance.” Standing up, she gracefully dismissed the stunned Natasha Romanov.


End file.
